Eternal student: 62-year-old has attended University of Northern Colorado for nearly 44 straight years

Want to audit a course? If you’re a senior 65 years old or older, you can do so for free at the University of Northern Colorado. For more information, go online to www.unco.edu/regrec/NonDegree/Auditing or call the Office of the Registrar at (970) 351-2231.

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Have you seen Edwin Wayne Grant around the University of Northern Colorado campus?

If not, ask your parents.

Grant, 62, has rarely missed a semester of school since starting at UNC in 1970. For his trouble, he’s got four undergraduate degrees. And here’s the kicker: He hasn’t used a single one in his professional life, where he’s worked as a teacher or written music to get by.

“My mother always thought education was very important, whether you used it or not,” Grant said. “Maybe I took it to the extreme.”

The first degree, in physical science with a minor in math, was paid for through a scholarship, Grant said.

The past three were paid for “One class at a time,” said Grant, who said he tries to take at least one class every semester.

Grant’s obsession with education started with his mother. It also started in 1970 after he graduated from a relatively new Greeley West High School.

He got a deferment to continue his education after being drafted, and graduated with his first UNC degree in 1976.

“June 5, 1976,” Grant relays. “Graduated on my birthday.”

When he obtained that first degree, Grant said he contacted the draft board.

“They said, ‘Well, the war’s over,’” Grant said.

So Grant just kept going, every year, taking a class or two every semester except for a brief hiatus in the 1980s when he dabbled in writing and performing music.

“Mostly elevator music,” Grant said.

Grant has never been married and has no children. He plays the clarinet, flute, saxophone and guitar. But beyond that, his hobby is school.

Grant never pursued graduate studies partly because of varied interests and partly because, as his mom always told him: Education is an end in and of itself.

Twelve years begat a degree in biological science with a minor in music. Twelve more gave Grant a diploma for earth science with a minor in environmental studies. Thirteen later, Grant completed a degree in political science with a minor in history in 2013 — one class at a time.

Grant laughs a lot when describing the changes in the school — and himself — over the years. He’s got his quips down pat.

“The mirror’s still the same, but the reflection has changed quite a bit,” he offers.

As for grades, he’s gotten more comfortable just getting by.

“I used to get quite a few A’s,” Grant said. “Then, I don’t know, B’s seemed OK. Now, if I get a C, it doesn’t bother me.”

He said he reckons he’ll eventually lose the motivation — or the health — to attend classes. But he’s betting on eight more years.

Grant is still in the classroom these days, but he doesn’t have plans to earn a fifth degree. That’s because Grant’s one of six students this semester taking advantage of a UNC program that allows people older than 65 to take classes (without credit) for free. It’s called auditing a class, and Grant said he was grandfathered in before the age was bumped from 60 to 65.

Because he’s auditing, he can’t take a grade or class credit. But that’s fine by Grant.

“I’ve got four degrees I don’t use,” He said. “What’s a fifth?”

Grant is taking Chinese, Japanese and a history course this year. When he walked into his class this semester, Grant’s professor asked him, “Didn’t you graduate last year?”